Suburban Green Building

Last week I wrote about options for financing residential solar installations. Homeowners looking at potential solar projects must weigh the upfront costs with the long-term energy and financial savings. Twin Cities suburban governments are making the same types of decisions. City officials are weighing the costs of geothermal heating systems, solar installations, innovative stormwater management, and material reuse.

The upside for residents, other than potentially lower property taxes if city energy costs decrease, is a better understanding by city officials of green building techniques. My city council and planning commission wrestle with updates to city ordinances, trying to decide what the codes should allow. Their work on municipal projects will make it easier for all of us to get building permits and learn from the experience of our city inspectors.

-Chris, Green

Planting Fall Pansies

There's a chill in the air around my home. Although it's just starting to be September, the shorter days and cooler nights make this great weather for cool season crops. One crop that thrives in fall in my neck of the woods are pansies. Garden centers are stocking up on them and they make a great plant for a container or in the garden. Here's some ideas for growing pansies this fall around your house.

Pansies in Containers
Many container plantings can use a make over this time of year. I'm pulling out the leggy and spent marigolds, petunias, and lobelia and I'm going to plant a pot of pansies. Whether it be the large-faced hybrids or the small faced violas, this family of flowers will bloom right through a frost. I mix and match colors in a container to present a bright and cheery pot for the front of the house.

Pansies in the Garden
In annual flower beds or even herb gardens, pansies make a great addition to prolong the color season. Pansy and violas flowers are edible, so they are perfectly appropriate for an herb garden. Mix them in with basil, parsley, and sage. As the weather cools they will thrive in the space left from the dying basil and be good visual companions to the parsley and sage.

Pansies Through the Winter
Pansies and violas can take a light frost and still grow. In fact, most years, tough violas, such as Johnny-Jump-Ups, will overwinter under the snow and be blooming in early spring. If you want to encourage them, mulch with bark mulch in late fall to protect the plants and remove it in March or April for the first flowers of the season.

-Charlie, Lawn & Garden

Free Sun, Cheaper Collectors

I'm sure there is an aspiring Montgomery Burns out there looking for an opportunity, but sunlight is still free. The cost of collecting and converting it to electricity is going down, reports the New York Times. The market changes are driven by increased production, particularly in China, and reduced demand, primarily in Europe.

One Texan who installed a large rooftop system saved 23% on his system, compared to the estimated cost on year earlier. Current federal tax credits saved him an additional 30%. For systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars, those percentages translate into real money.

The upfront cost of the solar systems is still high for many people, no matter how good the payback time for the system looks. The Times also discusses several newer options for consumer financing. A few states allow municipalities to pay the initial capital costs and collect the loan from residents through property taxes. There are also private leasing schemes that reduce the initial cost for homeowners. Some options allow consumers to buy the power from a private entity that owns and maintains the panels. A recent San Francisco Chronicle article gives a good overview and examples of the financing options out there if you're interested in putting solar system on your home.

-Chris, Green

Green School and Home Office Supplies

It is that time of year. Students all over the country from kindergarten to graduate school are getting ready to go back to school.

Here are a few planet friendly pointers for those getting ready for school or in the need to replenish home office supplies. Try reusing and re-purposing what you can and don't get greenwashed (when a company or product claims to be green/eco friendly, when in fact it was just a marketing ploy)!

When it comes to paper products, look for products that use recycled paper made from post-consumer waste. This prevents used paper from going into the landfill. Remember, the higher the recycled content, the better for the planet. The Environmental Protection Agency requires a minimum of 30% PCW to constitute recycled paper. Most recycled paper products contain very little post-consumer waste (PCW) paper, and are actually composed of wood chips and mill scraps. Only recycled paper made with PCW aide in fighting deforestation and reducing landfill waste.

For example, here is a binder made from 70% post-consumer waste and no VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds).

Also, look for non bleached recycled paper like this.

The vast majority of conventional paper products have been bleached with chlorine to make them really white and this process produces dioxins. Here is a list of products endorsed by the Chlorine Free Products Association.

When it comes to writing, try refillable pens since only the ink needs to be replaced. There are also disposable pens made of recycled materials such as these.

Look for PVC (polyvinyl chloride, better known as vinyl) FREE backpacks, lunch boxes and other products because its the most environmentally hazardous plastic out there. It can also be found in shoes, boots, backpacks, and countless other products.

From recycled paper sticky pads and crayons, to bulletin boards and scissors there are a variety of school and home office supply products that are kinder to the planet.

Tread Lighter with planet friendly school and home office supplies,
-Phyllis, Green Expert

Opt Out

I spend a couple minutes each night sorting the day's mail. Bills into a desk drawer to be paid later, account statements into the file cabinet to be forgotten, the rest into the recycle bin. The “to be recycled” fraction for many of us has increased over the years, with credit card offers, store catalogs, fundraising requests, and (literally) tons of other junk mail. A 2008 Washington Post article reported 104 billion pieces of junk mail in 2007. That's a lot of trees to cut down and turn into paper, move about the country, and then go straight from my mailbox to my recycle bin.

The Federal Trade Commission's web site provides information on reducing the amount of unwanted junk mail. Consumers can contact each of the three major credit bureaus with a request to be removed from marketing lists. The easiest way to contact the credit bureaus is through a free online service they run for consumers.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) provides another online service that can reduce the amount of delivered junk mail. The DMA claims to represent 80% of the total volume of direct mail. Their service costs $1.

I signed up for these services several years ago and noticed a dramatic drop in the amount of unwanted mail. I still get political mail and catalogs, but only from companies and people I have contacted in the past. The “do not mail” services went a little way toward reducing resource and energy use and a long way toward reducing my irritation with daily mail sorting.

-Chris, Green

Competing at the Fair

The end of August is Fair time in Vermont. The local Champlain Valley Fair at the Essex Fairgrounds is gearing up to start this Saturday, August 29th. While the midway, concerts, food, and booths get top billing in many people's minds, I'm still partial to the old fashioned traditions of the fair. The animal, vegetables, fruits and flower competitions are the roots of the Fair and that's where I head. Of course, I have to be there this Saturday because I'll be judging the Vegetables and Fruits competition.

Entering fruits and vegetables at the fair is fun and profitable. Ribbons and prize goes out to the best produce and the judges are usually pretty lenient - especially after a tough growing season. 

If you're entering fruits and vegetables at the fair, the first thing to do is get the handbook. That tells you the categories that you can enter. Follow the instructions accurately. If it calls for 15 cherry tomatoes, don't bring in 12. You'll be disqualified.

Also, make sure the produce is blemish-free and at the right stage of maturity for that vegetable. Judges don't like to see those huge zucchini or cucumber clubs. Those won't win any prizes. Have your kids enter too. There's a category for children's exhibits that include vegetables and other fun categories such as best decorated pumpkin.

-Charlie, Lawn & Garden

Planting Those New Trees

Late summer and fall are great times of year to plant trees and shrubs. The cooler air temperatures and warm soils combine to create the perfect combination for strong root growth. In the North, deciduous trees and shrubs can be planted now because their leaves will be dropping soon and won't demand water and nutrients from the roots. The roots can spend more time growing. Evergreen trees and shrubs in cold climates may suffer if planted too late in the fall because they continue to transpire water during the winter and the roots need to be able to supply the needles with moisture. Trees that are brown in spring are mostly because the needles dried out during the winter. It's best to plant them in late summer or spring. In warm winter areas both deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs are fine to plant. The mild winter allows these plants to get firmly established before the heat of next summer. 

The key for any tree and shrub is proper watering. Even if the leaves have dropped, the soil needs to remain moist so roots can growth. Dig the hole 3 times as wide as the container and plant your trees and shrub at the same depth as it was in the container. Water it well. Staking normally isn't needed unless the tree or shrub is tall and gangly and there's potential the main trunk will snap in heavy winds. Generally it's better for the tree to gently rock back and forth to help the roots grab hold. Also, don't worry about fertilizing until next spring. However, mulch your tree and shrub with a 2- to 4-inch thick layer of bark mulch. This will help insulate roots during any unusual cold snaps.

-Charlie, Lawn & Garden

No Power Makes Me Feel Powerless

The notice came in the mail on Monday. The power company gave us 4 days notice that they were turning off the power to work on some cabling in the neighborhood. Ok, no power from 8 am until 12. No problem, there are plenty of things to do and get done with out power, right? Wrong. It did throw us for a bit of a loop.

I forgot to plug in the travel alarm clock but was gently woken up by the sound of one of the kids tip toeing through the hallway. Then my husband went downstairs to make his morning coffee but was reminded that wasn't going to be a reality at home this morning. 'Luckily' there are coffee shops on every corner these days. Then the kids started clamoring that it was 'too dark' and they couldn't see the inside of their closet well enough to pick out their clothes.

“Open the curtains I suggested. Oh and don't open the refrigerator,” I reminded them. Nice start to the day I thought.

I sat down to my powered-up-the-night- before laptop to get some work done. I tried to pull down emails and realized accessing the internet would be a challenge as the router is of course powered by electricity. Hmm. Yah ok.

I knew I wouldn't get the laundry done today and I couldn’t run the dishwasher so I decided to knock another thing off my list of things to do this morning: go grocery shopping. Nope. The garage door opener isn't working either. I could have used the manual release cord but instead I saw it as a sign and went back plan A.

Luckily my bike is in the shed so I jump on and rode to a friend's house where the power is on to write this blog.

Did I think I would feel so strapped without power? Nope. This seems to be a reminder of all the electronics we depend on to get through a normal day.

So how can I alter my lifestyle to be less energy dependent? Will it get that far in my lifetime? Probably not. Should I start teaching my children an alternate, energy independent lifestyle? Perhaps.

No power is making me a philosopher this morning.

Treading Lighter with no power,
-Phyllis, Green Expert

Cleaning up the brambles

Late summer is the perfect time of year to prune back your brambles. Raspberries and blackberries have been producing all summer. Most are done for the season, unless your have the everbearing raspberries. They are gearing up for a second crop. Here are some late summer maintenance tips for your berry bushes.

Pruning Raspberries
These will include yellow and red raspberries. Prune out canes that fruited this summer. Most brambles produce fruit on the 2-year old canes. Once done fruiting they will die. Cut these canes back to the ground and remove them from the area. Don't leave them close to your berry patch because they may harbor insects and diseases that will attack your younger canes. Remove any diseased canes and the remaining canes should be spaced about 6 inches apart. If overcrowded, remove the thinnest diameter canes. Prune back the first year canes to about 3- to 4-feet tall. They will branch out and produce more fruit next summer.

For everbearing yellow and red raspberries, prune out summer fruiting canes after they finish fruiting, but leave the fall fruiting canes. They will fruit again next year.If you just want a fall crop, mow down the whole patch in autumn.

If you are growing black raspberries, prune back the first year canes to 2 feet tall and prune the side shoots or laterals again next spring to induce more fruiting. Remove canes once they finish bearing.

Pruning Blackberries
Blackberries have vigorous growing canes that may or may not have thorns depending on the variety. Remove canes after they're done fruiting. Next spring, prune out thin canes leaving 5- to 7-per plant. Prune back side branches to 12 inches long.

Keep beds weed free and fix trellises this fall so growth next spring is supported and stay upright.

-Charlie, Lawn & Garden

Does Energy Efficiency Matter?

I often write about residential energy efficiency, passing along information on specific home appliances, efforts to make our electricity grid smarter, and high efficiency construction. On the micro scale, residential efforts to improve efficiency will save energy and money for the individual.  Will large-scale efficiency improvements lead to comparable benefits to the population at large? Can efficiency gains significantly reduce emissions contributing to climate change or save enough energy to reduce imports of foreign energy sources?

The McKinsey Global Institute economic think tank recently released a report, “Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy,” concluding that a $520 billion American investment in energy efficiency would lead to $1.2 trillion in savings. The reduction in energy use represents a 23% reduction in non-transportation energy use in the U.S., compared to a “business-as-usual” case.

Related op-eds written by McKinsey experts point to the significant gains available in the residential sector. Technologies such as compact fluorescent lighting and high efficiency building materials and water heaters could significantly reduce overall residential energy use. The McKinsey work includes policy recommendations to encourage these efforts.

So there are benefits at multiple levels if we move ahead on energy efficiency. We can each save some cash in the long run with better appliances and materials. A little bit of policy encouragement can translate those individual gains into big energy savings and benefits across the whole country.

-Chris, Green